It’s a busy morning in Smart Bitch HQ, where I’m hard at work wrestling new software and correcting graphics – something cool is coming, I promise. At least I think it’s cool, anyway. Maybe you will, too.
Anyway, I’m under my desk cursing at the wiring and trying valiantly to pretend like Photoshop and I are good buddies, but I have a couple of questions:
I don’t have any premium channels, but I am dying (ha!) to know what y’all thought of HBO’s True Blood. I’m going to try to watch it online (thank you HBO) later, but I’m so curious what y’all thought.
Also, Anna Paquin does not look like herself – holy cow.
Tiny bit o’ humor: I really love this anonymous mother’s chat board online that sounds really dorky but honestly it’s a great place for fast info and absolutely the bitchiest behavior ever. It’s based in New York but there are moms from all over on it. It’s totally anonymous, very fast, and hilarious. Last night, they were discussing Twilight, and I swear, at least six women said, “I want my own Edward.”
All I could think was, even with the popsicle wang? Really?!
Really enjoyed True Blood. Lots of social commentary and snark. Great start and with a cliff hanger ending – shades of long ago serials.
No, I don’t want my own Twilight Edward. The whole cold fish routine would not be someone I want to cuddle up with. How would he warm cold feet? Now the J.R. Ward vampires who are a separate species and warmblooded, that’s another story entirely!
I was with an “Edward.”
Trust me. Over rated. Seriously.
Even when he has tons of money, that doesn’t balance out the weird friends and family that come with him. Talk about bloodsuckers.
Stick with werewolves. They’re unflaggingly loyal and the fur keeps you warmer at night.
Okay, I’m poor, I’m broke, I’m unemployed and how sick is it that I subscribed to HBO just to get to see TrueBlood?*
Anyway, I thought it was pretty darn brilliant. I loved the casting choices, the writing was good, it was *very* close to the book. It helps that it’s been long enough ago since I read Book one that I’ve sort of forgotten who the bad guy is and how things go down. Jason really will stick his dick anywhere. They did a great job of showing how disconcerting and distracting it must be for Sookie to always be hearing all of those voices and thoughts, and how calm she can be when she’s with Bill.
It’s obvious that HBO intends this to be their next truly top-notch series and so far they’re really hitting it, at least for me. I can’t wait for next week.
*(truthfully they were having a bitchin’ special on HBO and Starz and I’m not paying any more than I was).
I loved True Blood last night, really enjoyed it. I think the book it’s based on, Dead Until Dark, is better of course, but for a vampire television show it’s not bad at all.
Well, that fang action at the very beginning in the gas station/quick mart ws pretty bad and the opening credits blew chunks. I’m really looking forward to next week’s show though.
One pro about the TV version – it’s obviously not in first point of view and we’re getting the thoughts and reactions of others from them, not just from Sookie. A plus, hopefully, for those that have been turned off by the books being first person.
And are they really putting it online to view? How? The link says “watch”, but it’s just the trailer. Hello, what am I doing wrong. IT is Monday after all, lol. Things going wrong go hand in hand with it.
Best of luck with you and Photoshop. Like most other things, you just have to pony up and become its bitch. Or be a bitch to it. It likes that sometimes.
Ya’ll are making me seriously ponder adding HBO to my cable subscription. Can I just say how much I would LOVE IT if I could subscribe to individual shows at a cost for a season? I have to be an HBO subscriber to access their shows in the On Demand settings, but if I could just subscribe to one show from HBO and maybe one from Showtime, I’d be a very happy Sarah.
I really enjoyed it. I love the books. I can’t wait until we meet Eric, I don’t know him as an actor, but they couldn’t have picked anyone that I think looks more like what he looks like in my head. I was afraid that I wasn’t going to like it. Somehow books just don’t translate well on screen for me. But I was very pleasantly surprised.
I’ll watch next week. The characters were all pretty true to the book but I don’t remember Sam lusting quite so “loudly” after Sookie until later in the books. Stephen Moyer as Vampire Bill is….*shiver* yummy. I could have done without the gratuitous sex but this is HBO and the producer did “Six Feet Under” so I expected such. Still didn’t do much for me. I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination but those two scenes could have been left out and not affected the plot. There were more subtle ways to get the point across.
This looks very interesting. I’m definitely going to be watching this one.
I was disappointed when Blood Ties was dropped although I was glad that I could get the last couple of shows on iTunes. I wasn’t at all surprised when Moonlight was dropped—that was some bad clunky writing.
Who is left? LKH? *Shudder*
Huh. You know, I didn’t think the sex was gratuitous. Spoiler ahead
I thought the Jason sex scene revealed a tremendous amount about his character. That he’s a horn-dog. That while he expresses contempt and hatred for
vamps in real life, in secret he’s both fascinated and turned on when he sees the vamp sex. It also furthers the story, showing him putting his hands around her neck.
And okay, it was pretty graphic. But heck, we read romances (and Charlaine Harris) and what is written in those books is far, far more graphic than what was shown on screen. For me it’s a really nice change to see something more true to life rather than glossed over. Go Alan Ball! Go HBO! Go Jason!
I’m sorry! The spoiler text didn’t work! Sorry, sorry…
No worries. I fixed it. Highlight to read.
*small voice*
um . . . if my inner grammarian could rear her bespectacled head for a second . . .
SB Sarah, please please please spell it “y’all.” It’s a contraction of “you + all.”
“Ya’ll” is a contraction of nothing. I know tons of people spell it that way and it drives me to desk-gnawing every time I see it (AaaaAARGHpantpant*spluttergargle*): What is “ya’ll” a contraction of?!?!?! (Or, since my inner grammarian is out and about: Of what is “ya’ll” a contraction?!?!?!?!)
*deep breath*
Carry on.
Sarah……Blockbuster was renting the first episode of TRUE BLOOD for free, that might help you decide for yourself. I’m going to have to upgrade my cable to watch LOL
FWIW I really liked the fact it’s kinda edgy and I loved the humor, but HBO and FX tend to put out some of my fave shows. (and I haven’t read the books).
The first episode of True Blood made me want to pick up the Sookie Stackhouse books (I’ve abstained so far because the covers/cover copy look so… goofy).
I think my favorite character in the show, at the very least, may be Lafayette. Sookie, Sam, and Bill are all fine and dandy, but soft spots for fun minor characters.
The sex was a little off-putting though. If it keeps up, I’ll have to schedule time to watch True Blood without kiddies around, instead of popping it up on the Tivo whenever I feel like it.
As for TwiMoms… really? Popsicle Sparklepeen rocks their world? Really?!
Sarah, which board are you talking about in the 2nd part of your post? I didn’t see a link for one, and its sounds interesting. I want to read more about ‘popsicle wangs’. 🙂
P.S. My security word is side45. Like I’m just this side of 45 years old???????? Not yet!
I just watched it, I dont have hbo subscription but for some reason the on demand still works for the premium channels..I’m not complaining! lol
I dunno why so many fuss about the sex scenes. The books nor the show are YA. I liked the show well enough to watch again. Jason looks like a younger prettier brad pitt if there can be such a thing ! He’s such a horndog , I wish I’d known what a horndog was back when I was young enough to do something about it !
I loved the Grandmother. Tara seems like a young Wanda Sykes. Sam is a hunk, who wants to go across the bar parking lot and into his trailer? That’s a hot love nest for we southern gals.
The scene with Sookie layin in the sun with her glass of tea beside her is SO southern USA. Although here in the part of the south where I live we call it ” sweet tea” not “iced tea”. Dunno what they call it in Louisianna. And by the way, how many dive bars in rural LA have such pretty skinny waitresses? And how many pay 10 bux an hour PLUS tips? That’s pretty darn good pay for that kind of work in that type of establishment.
It’s easy to be critical based on just one show but I’m not afraid to say I liked it!
Okay, a mixed result for me, and from me.
I didn’t like the books. They seemed shallow and uninteresting, although I have no doubt that if Ms Harris had a bigger word count she could have done it awesomely.
HBO show, same problem.
The mystery was more transparent than MURDER SHE WORTE. The sex was gratuitous and we thank them.
Anna Paquin ruled that part. She really was Sookie.
Grandma was totally cool.
Vampire dude was vampire dud for me.
The hearing people’s’ thoughts was excellent!
BFF Tara, awesome!
Intro of the dog, terrific! I was “Oh yeah, I remember him.”
Will I watch the next episode. Maybe. Probably.
P.S. Sweet tea in Louisiana is just called “Tea” if you don’t ask for it unsweetened, you won’t get it that way. That is how you know you are REALLY in the South!
I loved the show. Sookie was really likable. The dialog was snappy. I never read the books but the show made me want to pick up the books! I love that it’s on HBO so adult content can be handled instead of cut out. Finally ~ we get a vampire show with real acting and plot that doesn’t make me want to change the channel.
I gave TrueBlood a B+.
It stayed true to the books enough that I could follow along and go “Oh yeah! I remember that.” but it was different enough that it felt fresh.
My main gripes are how they portrayed Tara – she definitely wasn’t that obnoxious in the books. I mean really, stick up her ass much?
I agree with an above poster that the opening scene sucked (no pun intended) and when the vampire flashed his fangs I groaned at how crappy the CGI was. I’m glad they fixed the problem later in the show. Bill’s fangs didn’t look nearly as bad.
And Sookie reading Sam’s thoughts so clearly bothered me. In the books, his thoughts are “a snarled mess” and she could never quite hear what he was thinking.
I do like the actor they got to play Sam. He did an excellent job.
I do have to say that I laughed loud enough for my neighbors to hear me when Sookie walked into the house and her Gran was reading a Charlaine Harris book.
Given the mostly unmitigated crap that’s coming out for movies these days, it seems to me that smart, well-written TV drama (Mad Men, Sopranos, Six Feet Under, etc.) may be the way of the future. Hollywood seems not to be able to make much in the way of movies that’s actually entertaining (yes, there are exceptions but fewer and farther between the past few years). To me it’s exciting to see a well-written well-made series like Trueblood make waves.
OK, hold up – we’ve got an official spelling for yall – or y’all?
Not to offend, but it’s slang, right? Do we really HAVE to spell slang a certain way? I truly thought slang spelling was at the user’s discretion.
Count me amongst folks that didn’t mind the sex. I admit I’ve not been an HBO subscriber, so don’t know much about their gratuitous sex, but I agree with robinjn – it was a good way to show Jason’s character who in the book only comes from Sookie’s perspective. And him going from one woman, trying to get in the pants of another shows what Sookie thinks of him in the books.
Maybe they didn’t have to show quite so many nekkid body parts, but meh, was no bother to me.
I finally put my finger on what bugged me. The print ads were so slick and artistic but the show is more Dukes of Hazard than artsy urban vampire. Does that make sense? Not a big bug but when I finally figured out what was bugging me I thought..Ahhhh that’s what it is lol.
Nope, P.N. Elrod.
Her vampire PI was here long before Anita, Moonlight, or Forever Knight and Elrod writes rings around LKH.
The vampire’s first case is to solve his own murder. How cool is that?
Ignore the crappy book covers. http://www.vampwriter.com
Yeah, but I think slick and urban will come in later. After all, we haven’t been to fangtasia yet. And Sookie *does* live in Hicksville.
see29. No, I will not see 29 again. Or 39…
Sarah, if you figure out who to watch the whole episode online, share the wealth. I just cancelled HBO a month ago. bad timing anyone?
That’s something to look forward to. I only read maybe the first two books a long time ago, I forget what happens. Which I think is why I liked the show so much. I’m not comparing it to the books, just enjoying it for what it is.
I felt like some of the sex was ramped up to make it more “HBO,” rather than absolutely necessary to the plot. That, I’d say was probably the director’s choice, because he always has a lot of graphic sex in his stuff. I just hope every episode doesn’t have secondary characters banging.
I also felt like Tara was a bit of a stereotype, the “sassy, black friend” who is only on screen to point out how sassy and black she is. That was… irritating. The actress did a good job making her endearing when the writers seemed to want her to come off as shrill. But I don’t see this Tara like Tara from the books, especially because I can’t imagine this Tara falling in with vampires.
Other than that, it was absolutely magical to see everything I’d imagined in the books coming to life on tv! Anna Paquin was perfect, and she really captured Sookie’s spaciness and naivety that people around her see, without making her a cartoon and while still being able to show that there is something deeper to her. I really cannot wait until next week, which is so hilarious… they ended on a cliffhanger right from the book, I know what’s going to happen, but I *still* am freaking out like, “OMG IS SHE GOING TO BE OKAY?”
This Texan’s opinion…
I prefer the spelling ya’ll to ya’ll.
I think it’s more phonetically accurate to how I pronounce it, and I also see it as the contraction of these two words:
Ya and all.
ya + all = ya’ll.
But that’s just me. Some dialects pronounce it more as ‘youall’, in which case the y’all would be more accurate.
Actually, according to LKH’s website and the announcement she made at DragonCon, her series has been optioned again to be made into either a movie or tv series. Not sure how far it will get this time. *shrugs*
My spamword although14. I would just like to say that although 14 angry vamps may threaten me with bodily harm, I will never watch a show made about the Anita Blake books.
Re: the ads for TrueBlood vs the show:
Taking the show’s premise, that vampires are “out of the coffin” and so have become an official demographic for advertisers, I feel like the TrueBlood “ads” at least were true to that—slick, catchy, professional-type print and outdoor ads. They fit in perfectly with LA’s ubiquitous bus stop, billboard, and poster ads—so much so that it took me a second look to realize what they were. The commercial with the hunters also seemed to fit in with modern beer commercials and had a different audience in mind—just like most national campaigns with multiple target demographics.
I really enjoyed the opening credits—very atmospheric and good music, but there was a definite disconnect between the credits and the first episode—maybe when we get deeper into the “vampire scene” like Fangtasia, they will fit better.
Overall, Bill was a little broody (too many burning glances), but Jason was great, Sam, Arlene, and Tara, as well. I like Anna Pacquin, but her Sookie seemed a little more bubbly than book-Sookie who lives more in her head.
Popsicle wang ftw!!! 🙂
I loved it. Watched it more than once. 😉
I thought True Blood was pretty good, my only complaint is that one of the roles was recast between the original pilot and the aired pilot, that of the main character’s best friend Tara, and I liked the original actress much more than her replacement.
I thought Tara was more like Jessica in the Undead series. The Tara I read in the book was a little less outspoken and brash.
I enjoyed True Blood – Anna Paquin does Sookie much better than I was expecting. The video sex scenes were a bit crass (and I have read all the books and expect lots of sex in the series) but I understand in part they were to set up Jason’s character. Still, eeuw.
I didn’t get how she was reading Sam’s mind, though – that’s not supposed to happen (at least not very well) according to the book. I wish the premiere had been 2 hours long in order to draw people in more.
(get28? Where can I find myself a 28 year old?)
I have to mention the vampire sex scene.
I fell on the floor laughing when he is going at it at vampire speed then looks to the camera with the ” look what I can do!” expression on his face. SLOW DOWN! Some things aren’t meant to go at warp speed.
That scene has gotta show up on youtube lol.
Marilyn , I totally agree with you! She does remind me of Jessica now that you mention it.
Loved it and was surprised that I did. It’s hard to adapt a book to TV but Ball did a decent job. I’m preparing to be annoyed about the actor who plays Eric though. I was thinking he should be more Fabio-style beefy and instead they’re giving us David Spade-wimpy.
Oh yeah, and what’s with the vampire growling like a dog during sex??
The vamp sex scene was hilarious, as was most of the show. I thought it was more comedy than drama. I mean, the show started out with hand jobs and Billy Bob Vamp. How cool is that?
To Lizzie: Right on! I also believe in a y’all spelling!
To Phadem and Anony Miss:
To the best of my recollection it is y’all based of the contraction of you all. (M-W agrees: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/you-all) I used to teach an Etymology course, and we’d watch portions of The Story of English (PBS), which said that y’all and ain’t came into use in the South through Scots-Irish immigrants.
I don’t think it matters much on the internet, but it’s a huge peeve of mine when seeing it in print.